Tight curl forming device



NOV. 23, 1948'. I KLEINSNHTH 2,454,558

TIGHT CURL FORMING DEVICE Filed Sept. 13, 1947 28 f A; I

BEN KLEINSMITl-I lhwentor Patented Nov. 23, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' ricer cuntf i u vime DEVICE Application seiitmber 13, 1947, Serial No. 773,786 4sClaims. (01. 132-44) My present invention relates to thegenere-r art of-hair-dressing devices and, more particularly, to a tight curl forming device.

The dressing of women's hair has beoomea large industry throughout the United States, and even very small communities have hair-dressing establishments. However, the widespread knowledge of hair dressin has prompted attempts on the part of alarge number of women to handle their own hair dressing, but to do so in the commonly abtd commercial manner; Many forms or hair handling that} were formerl considered too involved and difficult for home accomplishment have been simplified to the point where now a large ercentage of women are giving themselves arieiit waves in their own homes. This change in the owner :of achieving hair styling and dressinghes c" a demand for other arrangements that will enable the home hair-dresser to achieve the professional appearing dressing, and my present invention is of a character to l'riditselftd this general program. i

My device providesmeans whereby the ghtly wound-pi'n-curls; for instance, can-beforrned with either a right or left-hand'curl. Further} he device permits formatioii'of various "other types of tight rolls which are used in the present day hair styles; therefore: I

The principal object of m present invention is to provide mechanical ine'a'nsthat will insure the pr'odu'ctioribf a; largenumber of'tiglit curls all of uniform characteristics.

A further object of my invehtiorfis to provide convenient mechanical means that will make it possible for one not skilled in'suchwo'rk' to produce on her own head tight curls wound either in the right or left hand direction. N

A further object of' my presentirivention is re provide means whereby tight curls can beforrn'ed in a small fraction of the time now necessary because of the" step-up gear ratio provided in m device.

A further object of my invention is to provide means that will produce tight curlsflattothe head with adequate safety provision to preven injury to the scalp.

A further object of my present invention is' to provide a drive means for a curling comb, in which the comb member may bedui'ckly and conveniently changed in order to permitthe selection of the proper comb for the ty eer cur-1 de-' sired.

A further object of my present inventionis to provide a homecdrling device for hairthat can be economically produced from the cheaper syn thetic materials so that the cost of same may be kept to a minimum, and its advantages thereby enjoyed by a large number of people.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the descriptions and disclosure in th'edrawin'gs, or maybe comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View, showing a hair curling de'vicemade after the teachings of my present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through my device, the cutting'plane being taken substantially along the center line thereof.

Fig.3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. y y

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral l0 designates the handle of my device. The exact shape of this handle should conform to what is considered the most comfortable shape, and I have found the shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to be generally best for thistyp'e of handle. In this design, I provide a rather large, slightly convex curved top, orend, 52 so that the palm of the hand can conveniently rest thereon, and then to reduce the diameter of the handle from that point and below in order that one or more of the fingers can be wrapped partially aroundit to steady the device whenin use.

mail for the revolvable internal gear member 20;

This gear member is designed with a sloping upper surface at22, and a curved rim at 24 of a general form that has been found most con'vfna mm to turn with the tips of the fingers, assuming that the palm of the hand restsupon the end of the handle at I2. In order to clearly bring out the operation of this device,it is pointed outthat the drawings have been shown on a considerably increased,

scale so that the functioning of the smaller parts admit of clearer explanation. Actually, the do vice should be made small enough so that a singlet hand of the operator can give pressure on the en'd'df' the handleahd the fingers still reach the knurling at 26 on the upper surface of member 20.

Fixedly secured to shaft [6, immediately below gear 20, is a planet gear spider member 28. I have shown this spider as secured to shaft I6 by pin 30. In the drawing I have shown spider 28 as supporting two planet gears 32 and 34. This represents a. conventional form and normally is very satisfactory. Of course, there is a reversal of direction between the applied force and the turning of the comb member, which can be corrected by the insertion of an extra idle gear on the spider arrangement.

The general operation of planetary gearing is too well understood, it is believed, to need lengthy explanation in this application. Planet gears 32 and 34, while meshing in teeth 36 of gear member 20, also mesh with the central pinion 38, which is disposed for free revolution upon shaft I6, being held in its position by the lower ex tension 40 of shaft l6, and the washer and nut shown at 42. It is believed it should be clear that, as the internal gear of member 20 is turned with the fingers and the handle l2, holding spider 28 and any planet gears supported thereby, is held in a fixed position, the end result will be to turn the central pinion at a speed in direct ratio to the number of teeth in the ring gear of internal gear 20 and the pinion 38. This is without regard to any number of gear teeth that might be in the single planetary gear system shown, or if extra gears were employed in the arrangement in order to give reversal of the direction of rotation.

The lower portion of gear 38 is formed of the cylindrical member 44, which is cylindrical throughout its circumference excepting at one point as 46, where a key way is cut therein.

The cylindrical portion 44 provides the pOsitioning and centering means for the circular comb member 50. The comb member is provided preferably with a molded-in metal spring member 52 which is adapted to seat within keyway 46, and to provide a key action so that the torque of the central gear 38 may be transmitted to the comb, and it also provides a degree of resilience which increases the frictional engagement to the point of holding the comb quite definitely to the drive assembly.

1 Comb member 50 I prefer to form after the style of the cylinder combs whereby a plurality of teeth 54 are formed in a rim of material which gives the same general effect as though a straight hair comb were heated and bent into a circle. This arrangement has been found to be an ideal one for snugly holding the ends of hair upon which a curl is built. The overall diameter of this comb should be kept reasonably small so that the curl itself can be kept small. It has been foundthat different types of curls require different diameters of combs 50, and the length and spacing of the teeth 54 may need to be varied to suit different requirements. It will be noted from a study ofFigure 2 that the changing of a comb is a very simple matter, in that the comb centers on gear extension 44 and is merely frictionally held in position by spring 52. An owner may, therefore, secure a number of separate combs to take care of her individual requirements.

Centrally disposed, or co-axial with the rim of teeth, is a central plug member 56. This member has sufficient body so that, by rounding the ends as shown in Fig. 2, a pressure stop is pro vided which will prevent the comb from tending to dig into the scalp. This is a very desirable feature, particularly when it is understood .4 that the comb with my geared-up arrangement can be revolved at considerable speed, and should be so revolved if my device is going to achieve its purpose of helping a woman put in her curls quickly. Plug 56 serves another important purpose when the comb is raised from the scalp, or when it is used with its longitudinal axis tangent to the scalp. Under such conditions, a finger or thumb of the free hand may be rested on the end of the plug. and thus serve as a shield to retain the hair on the comb as the same is re- 'volved.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a tight curl forming device,

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A hair-curling device, consisting of: a central handle adapted to seat in the palm of the hand and having a reducing diameter from the point of contact to the end of said handle; a shaft co-axial with said handle and fixedly secured thereto; an enlarged journal on said shaft; an internal gear member disposed for free rotation upon said journal, said internal gear having a top surface which is knurled and sloped downwardly from the top of said gear member to a point near its periphery Where a gradual curve joins the sloping sides with the bottom of the gear; a planet gear spider secured to said shaft; a planet gear secured to said spider and revolvably mounted thereon; a central pinion disposed upon said shaft in co-axial relationship and free to revolve upon said shaft; restraining and positioning means for said pinion; said pinion havin below its gear teeth a cylindrical bearing portion; a keyway formed within said cylindrical portion; a circular comb formed with its teeth in parallel relationship with the axis of said shaft and having an upper portion with a central counterbore adapted to seat upon the cylindrical portion of said pinion; a resilient securing and keying device formed as part of said upward extension of said comb; and an axially positioned stop member disposed Within the circle of said teeth and having substantially the same downward extent as said teeth.

2. A hair curling device, consisting of a central handle adapted to seat in the palm of the hand; a shaft co-axial with said handle and fixedly secured thereto; an internal gear member disposed for free'rotation upon'said shaft, said internal gear having a top surface which is knurled and sloped downwardly from the top of said gear member to a point near its periphery; a planet'gear spider secured to said shaft; a planet gear secured to said spider and revolvably mounted thereon; a central pinion disposed upon said'shaft in co-axial relationship and free to revolve upon said shaft; restraining and positioning means for said pinion; aicylindrical bearing member secured to said central pinion; a keyway formed within said cylindrical member; a circular' comb formed with its teeth in parallel relationship with the axis of said shaft and having an upper portion with a central counterbore adapted to seat upon the cylindrical bearing member; a resilient securin and keying device formed as part of said upward extension of said comb; an an axially positioned stop member disposed within the circle of said teeth and having substantially the same downward extent as said teeth and adapted to form an auxiliary bearing point.

3. A hair-curling device, consisting of a. central handle adapted to seat in the palm of the hand; a shaft co-axial with said handle and fixedly secured thereto; an internal gear member disposed for free rotation upon said shaft, said internal gear having a top surface which is knurled and sloped downwardly from the top of said gear member to a point near its periphery; a planet gear spider secured to said shaft; a planet gear secured to said spider and revolvably mounted thereon; a central pinion disposed upon said shaft in co-aXial relationship, and free to revolve upon said shaft; restraining and positioning means for said pinion; a circular comb formed with its teeth in parallel relationship with the axis of said shaft and having an upper portion with a central counterbore adapted to seat upon the cylindrical portion of said pinion; and a resilient securing and keying means adapted to operatively connect said comb to said central pinion.

4. A hair-curling device, consisting of: I a central handle adapted to be held in the hand; a shaft co-axial with said handle and fixedly secured thereto; an internal gear member disposed for free rotation upon said shaft, said internal gear having a surface adapted for engagement with the fingers of the hand holding said handle; a planet gear spider secured to said shaft; a planet gear secured to said spider and revolvably mounted thereon; a central pinion disposed upon said shaft in co-axial relationship and free to revolve upon said shaft; restraining and positioning means for said pinion; said pinion having below its gear teeth a cylindrical bearing portion; a keyway formed within said cylindrical portion; a circular comb formed with its teeth in parallel relationship with the axis of said shaft and having an upper portion with a central counterbore adapted to seat upon the cylindrical portion of said pinion; and a resilient securing and keying device formed as part of said upward extension of said comb.

BEN KLEINSMITH.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Schoonmaker Sept. 10, 1895 Number 

